Sunday's Zumbathon Benefits Sandy Hook Students, Teachers

Sunday's Zumbathon Benefits Sandy Hook Students, Teachers

A local non-profit hopes to raise thousands of dollars at a fundraiser this weekend to benefit the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivors and victims' families.

Sandy Hook Elementary School teachers and students are striving to find a return to some kind of normalcy inside the former Chalk Hill Middle School, which is where Sandy Hook Elementary students now attend class, as the old school is still being treated as a crime scene. Janet Robinson, superintendent of Newtown schools, says, "The Monroe police have worked very diligently with the Newtown police so that we can all feel very comfortable and secure." One Texoma woman says she felt she needed to do something to help the Sandy Hook students and staff during this difficult time Laci Edwards, Bill Barley YMCA coordinator of events, says, "I just felt so compelled as a mother and as a fellow Christian and as a fellow American just to do something. On my own, I couldn't do something, but with the YMCA, I could." Instructors who teach "Zumba," the Latin dance-influenced fitness classes, are partnering with the Bill Bartley Branch of the YMCA. Together, they're hosting a "Zumbathon." One-hundred percent of the proceeds from the event benefit Sandy Hook Elementary School, its students, and its teachers. "I contacted the school district. They are secured funds. It is going to the Newtown, CT National Bank. All of those funds will be used for Sandy Hook Elementary School to ensure the children and students are getting the counseling they need throughout the year," Edwards says. Organizers say they'd like to raise $2,000 through the fundraiser. The Zumbathon is Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. in the gymnasium at the Bill Bartley Family YMCA. Admission is $10 at the door. You can participate for the entire time or for just a portion of the time. Instructors are working for free that day so all of the proceeds will benefit Sandy Hook Elementary.